Echoes LARP

The first step of creating a LARP character is deciding how you want to play, not just what you want to play. Think about your experience with other RPG systems (Dungeons and Dragons, Skyrim, etc). Do you prefer the sneaky archer or a powerful fire mage? A frenzied warrior wielding twin swords, or a tenacious defender with shield and mace? Or maybe combat isn’t your drive at all, and you’d rather be an enthralling performer, a learned scholar, or a silver-tongued diplomat? Our systems allows for hundreds of possible combinations, so your character can be as unique as you want.

An important thing about LARPing, and probably the biggest difference between it and other RPG game systems, is that LARPing requires you to actually carry out the actions of your character. Thus, a certain amount of introspection is required when creating a character concept. If you are not comfortable with the idea of physically fighting someone with weapons, then spending points for combat skills may not be as useful to you. If you’re not at all interested in involving yourself with scholarly research and development, buying Scholarship or Learned will probably not be as much fun for you during a game. And if you hate walking through the woods and exploring nature, Survival may be a bad choice! Figuring out how you want to play is more important than who you are going to play, so take some time for this step!

While we do not impose any sort of morality on your character, please understand that Echoes is a Player VS Enemy game, and PvP is generally discouraged unless in controlled areas (for example, warrior tournaments). Thus, playing a character who would traditionally be classified as Evil is not advised. That isn’t to say your character can’t have layers to their personality and dark spots in their past, but playing an Evil character will automatically oppose you to many of the other players, and will likely be a very unfulfilling experience. Harming other player characters is generally treated about the same as harming someone in real life. 

As an additional note, some races require makeup or prosthetics. These races also have mechanical benefits because of the requirements imposed on them, so we are very strict on enforcing these requirements. Of course, they also add a level of detail and immersion to our game.

Each player character (PC) hails from a Home World. These worlds are all different, and have unique bonuses, skill discounts, and requirements. Your Home World will not only shape your character’s skills, but their attitudes and viewpoint on the world as well.

You should select a Home World that sounds interesting to you as a baseline for your personal story, and one that has a theme/aesthetic that appeals to you. Any type of person can come from any Home World, but certain types of characters are more common in certain worlds. This is reflected in the skill discounts each world receives. 

Once you’ve picked your world, be sure to note any discounts/special abilities you automatically gain, as well as any makeup or costume requirements. A list of Home Worlds is available in the main menu.

Each new character starts with three traits automatically. Traits represent inherent strengths in your character, whether it be their natural agility, raw power, or indomitable will. Many skills receive synergy bonuses if that character also has a matching trait, so it’s smart to do this step and step 4 at the same time.

Traits can be raised in level, just as skills. However, a character is allowed to buy a fourth trait once ever, at a cost of 20 CP. This fourth trait cannot be raised past level one.

If you are unhappy with your skills/traits, you will be given the chance to completely rebuild your character after your first game. Additionally, there are in-game ways to shift traits and skills, but these are very rare and generally come at a high cost.

Here’s a general overview of the traits.

Each new character starts with 30 CP, or Character Points, which can be spent on skills and magic during character generation. Note that if we receive and approve your backstory as part of character creation, you will receive an additional 5 CP to spend. We’ll go into backstories in the next step. There is also a one-time purchase of 5 CP using brownie, but new players shouldn’t worry about that.

Your Home World may allow you to buy some skills at a discount, so please be sure to check those out! Skills start off inexpensive to learn, but true mastery will require dedication. However, even the first or second level of a skill can prove invaluable during the game; after all, the best healer is always the closest one!

If you are unhappy with your skills/traits, you will be given the chance to completely rebuild your character after your first game. Additionally, there are in-game ways to shift traits and skills, but these are very rare and generally come at a high cost.

This is where the real character building begins. You may already have ideas for a backstory, or, you may know nothing but a name and the numbers you assembled above. If you’re a seasoned character creator, this section is probably less useful to you, but simple dos and don’ts are worth remembering for players of any experience level.

DO: Read The Packet

Each Home World has a full packet available, loaded with world history, character examples, lore, and more. Before creating your character, read the packet and make sure that your idea fits within the world’s lore. The pages for each home world have a short introduction that can provide you with the general feel of a world. Some packets also include information on archetypes and character elements that aren’t appropriate. If you have a question on whether or not your concept would be appropriate to play, please feel free to contact us and we’ll be glad to help.

DO: Write Yourself Some Hooks

While you are totally allowed to turn in a character history without any conflict or hanging threads, making sure to leave a few openings may lead to some surprises during game. Think about any of the past actions your character might have done that could result in their history coming back around. Jilted lovers, rivals long-thought dead, any of these make exciting hooks that we, as plot, can use to develop your character’s personal storyline. 

DON’T: Write a novel full of adventure and conquest

Though your character can be any age (and in some cases no age at all) they should be at the beginning of their adventuring life when first arriving in play. Thus, concepts that involve your character being a great leader, elder magicians, or other similar ‘end game’ ideas should be avoided. Please, try to keep backstories to a few hundred words. 

Click here for the Character Forms page. Be sure to pay attention to any special instructions for each field.

We don’t expect you to become instantly familiar with the rules of the game, but in order to help make your first experience go a little smoother, we have a few suggestions.

• Carefully read what the skills you purchased can do.
• Read this page for the basic rules of combat.
• Check out this page to familiarize yourself with common taglines.
• Finally, this page has (mostly) one sentence explanations for some basic concepts.